God With Us Between Traditions - Thy Kingdom Come 2026

Melanie Carroll • May 15, 2026

God With Us Between Traditions...

A Thy Kingdom Come 2026 reflection for the Association of Interchurch Families


Thy Kingdom Come 2026 carries the theme ‘God With Us’ — a simple phrase, but one that lands deeply for many interchurch families.


Because if there is one thing interchurch life teaches you very quickly, it is that God rarely stays inside the tidy boundaries we build for Him.

He is present in the Methodist chapel and the Catholic parish. In the Anglican Eucharist and the Baptist prayer meeting. In Orthodox incense and informal kitchen-table prayer. In familiar liturgy and awkward silences. In difference. In compromise. In learning. In waiting.


Sometimes interchurch family life can feel like living in the space between traditions.


Not fully one thing. Not fully another. Trying to honour inherited stories while also building something new together.


And yet perhaps that is exactly where the Spirit so often works.


The 2026 Thy Kingdom Come material focuses on the presence of God through the Holy Spirit — the God who is with us in everyday life, in joy and sorrow, certainty and confusion. Across the eleven days between Ascension and Pentecost, Christians are invited to pray for five people and to notice God’s presence in ordinary places and relationships.


For interchurch families, that invitation already feels familiar.


Many of us have spent years learning how to pray across difference without losing conviction. We have learnt that unity is not sameness. We have discovered that hospitality is holy work. We have learnt how to sit with questions that cannot always be solved neatly.


Sometimes interchurch life is beautiful. Sometimes it is exhausting. Sometimes it is deeply enriching. Sometimes it quietly exposes the places where churches still struggle to receive one another fully.


And still God remains with us.


That may actually be one of the greatest gifts interchurch families offer the wider Church.

Not perfect answers. Not polished ecumenical statements. But lived witness.


The witness that love can remain even where disagreement exists. The witness that prayer can continue even when language differs. The witness that Christ is sometimes encountered most clearly not through certainty, but through relationship.


Pentecost itself was never a story of uniformity. It was a story of many voices hearing good news in their own language. The Spirit did not erase difference. The Spirit moved through it.


Perhaps that matters now more than ever.


In a world increasingly shaped by division, suspicion and tribal certainty, interchurch families quietly practise another way of being. A slower way. A listening way. A relational way.


Not because it is easy. But because love required it.


So during these days of Thy Kingdom Come, perhaps the invitation is not simply to pray for others to encounter God. Perhaps it is also to notice where God is already present.


At shared tables. At difficult conversations. At baptisms negotiated with tenderness. At weddings where traditions meet. At Christmases with complicated timetables. At moments where children ask questions adults cannot fully answer. At hospital bedsides where denominational language suddenly matters far less than compassion.


God with us. Not above the messiness but within it.

And perhaps that is where the Kingdom so often begins.


Melanie Carroll - Executive Officer




We also share with you a series of reflections to lead you through #ThyKingdomCome2026


Thy Kingdom Come 2026 - Daily Reflections for the Association of Interchurch Families


God With Us

These short reflections are designed for individuals, couples and families during Thy Kingdom Come 2026.

Each day includes:

  • a short theme
  • a simple scripture
  • a reflection
  • a prayer



Day 1 — God With Us in Waiting

Acts 1:4

‘Wait for the gift my Father promised.’

The disciples spent time between Ascension and Pentecost not fully knowing what would happen next. Interchurch families often understand that feeling. Living between traditions can sometimes feel like living in unfinished space. Yet waiting is not absence. God is present even in uncertainty.

Prayer God who stays with us in the in-between places, teach us to wait with hope rather than fear.



Day 2 — God With Us in Difference

Romans 12:5

‘Though many, we form one body.’

Difference does not automatically mean division. The Church has always contained many expressions, voices and traditions. Interchurch families often carry that reality in everyday life. May we learn to see difference not as threat, but as invitation to deeper listening.

Prayer Holy Spirit, help us to recognise Christ in traditions that are not our own.



Day 3 — God With Us Around the Table

Luke 24:30-31

‘He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.’

Meals matter. Tables matter. Many interchurch families know both the joy and pain connected to communion and shared worship. Yet Christ continues to meet people around tables — in churches, homes and ordinary kitchens.

Prayer Jesus, be present in our homes, our meals and our conversations.



Day 4 — God With Us in Questions

Mark 9:24

‘I believe; help my unbelief!’

Faith is not always certainty. Sometimes it is honesty. Questions do not disqualify us from God’s presence. Often they become the place where grace enters more deeply.

Prayer God of compassion, meet us kindly in our questions and uncertainties.



Day 5 — God With Us in Family Life

Colossians 3:14

‘Over all these virtues put on love.’

Family life is holy ground, even when it feels chaotic. School runs, caring responsibilities, disagreements, exhaustion and laughter can all become places where God is quietly present.

Prayer God of everyday life, help us recognise your presence in ordinary moments.



Day 6 — God With Us in Hospitality

Romans 15:7

‘Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you.’

Hospitality is more than politeness. It is making space for another person fully to exist. Interchurch families often practise this spiritually as well as practically.

Prayer Christ who welcomes us, help us become people of generous hospitality.



Day 7 — God With Us in Pain

Psalm 34:18

‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.’

Some interchurch experiences carry sadness. There can be exclusion, misunderstanding or grief. God does not stand far away from these experiences. He remains close.

Prayer God of tenderness, stay near to all who carry hurt within the life of the Church.



Day 8 — God With Us in Prayer

Matthew 18:20

‘Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’

Prayer does not need perfect words. Sometimes it is enough simply to sit together before God. The Spirit continues to pray within and through us.

Prayer Holy Spirit, draw us deeper into prayer together.



Day 9 — God With Us Across Generations

Joel 2:28

‘Your sons and daughters will prophesy.’

Children in interchurch families often learn early that faith is bigger than one tradition. They ask honest questions and notice contradictions adults sometimes avoid. May we listen well.

Prayer God of every generation, help us hear your voice through young and old alike.



Day 10 — God With Us in Witness

John 13:35

‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’

Interchurch families quietly witness to the possibility of love across difference. Not perfect unity. Not easy agreement. But faithfulness.

Prayer Jesus, help our lives reflect your reconciling love.



Day 11 — God With Us Through the Spirit

Acts 2:4

‘All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.’

Pentecost was never about making everyone identical. It was about the Spirit moving through many voices and languages. The Church still needs that vision today.

Prayer Come Holy Spirit. Teach us again how to live as one body with many gifts.




This resource has been adapted for the Association of Interchurch Families in response to the Thy Kingdom Come 2026 theme, ‘God With Us’. The wider Thy Kingdom Come movement invites Christians around the world to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for others to come to know Christ. Thy Kingdom Come 2026

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